Morten Harket, Magne Furuholmen and Paul Waaktaar-Savoy formed a-ha in 1982. Now they agree it is time is to call it a day.
The band writes on its website: “We’ve literally lived the ultimate boy’s adventure tale, through a longer, more rewarding career than anyone could hope for. Now it is time to move on.”
Final tour in 2010
But a-ha still has a bit more to give. They kicked off their final tour on 27 October with a concert in Cologne, Germany, and will be playing at least 20 concerts throughout Europe and Asia, before wrapping up the tour on 4 December 2010 in Oslo – 25 years to the day that they entered the international charts with the single “Take On Me” (1985).
It took three releases before “Take on Me” became a hit in the UK, climbing to number two on the UK Singles Chart. The music video – which was technologically groundbreaking at the time – wowed MTV viewers worldwide.
The rest is history. With “Take on Me”, a-ha became the first Norwegian band to top the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The single reached number one in 27 countries.
Highlights
Thus far, a-ha’s first album Hunting High and Low (1985) has sold over 8 million copies. Altogether the band has sold over 35 million albums.
In 1987 a-ha had the honour of composing the theme song for the James Bond film The Living Daylights. Two years later they drew a record-breaking crowd of 196,000 at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
Went their separate ways
Record sales began to fall in the early 1990s. After releasing their fifth album Memorial Beach (1993), the band decided to take a break.
Morten Harket began a solo career, while Paul Waaktaar-Savoy formed the band Savoy with his wife Lauren Savoy and percussionist Frode Unneland.
Magne Furuholmen also launched several solo music projects, while building a reputation as an artist. In 2008 he formed the band Apparatjik with Coldplay bassist Guy Berryman and Mew vocalist Jonas Bjerre.
Source of inspiration
From the start, a-ha has counted a wide range of musicians among its fans, from Leonard Cohen and Kanye West to bands such as U2, Crosby Stills & Nash and the Pet Shop Boys.
Coldplay has called the trio one of their biggest sources of inspiration.
Not retiring as individuals
In 2000, after a seven-year hiatus, a-ha came together again to make the album Minor Earth Major Sky – which was well received by critics and fans alike and showed the band at its best, as did their three subsequent albums.
Foot of the Mountain (2009) is a-ha’s last studio album. The three band members will soon be pursuing their own paths.
They write: “Doing this now will give us a chance to get more involved in other meaningful aspects of life, be it humanitarian work, politics, or whatever else – and of course … new constellations in the field of art and music. We are retiring as a band, not as individuals.”